Chapter 20: The Black Magic

Chapter 20: The Black Magic

“Alright, I know you told me you trust me, Edward and I thank you, but I also understand that you will truly not feel very at ease if I don’t explain some important things to you but I will try to tell something about it.” Valen said as she looked at Edward directly. Edward was mesmerized, this time he did not feel to look away from Valen’s eyes, this time, he wanted to look at it every single time. Valen continued what she is about to say and started walking towards the table with the flowers.

“We healers, have unique abilities, though it seemed that not all healers have some special abilities. I haven’t clarified it yet with Lady Mia, but I just thought of something, and it just might be a fact. Anyway, if not all of us have, I do have. My parents realized something about me before, medicines and ingredients do not have great effects on me, that was why I understand your concern Edward and I will admit, even medicines for illnesses do not work well for me. Though, perhaps to compensate for that, I seldom get sick...and in my entire life, so far, I only got sick twice. First was when I was six but it was not too serious. The second time was when I was fourteen,  that one was a serious illness - and my father admitted that my mother is a better healer than he is, well, she was considered the best healer in Yel, so she’s the one who took care of me. However, even my mother was not able to heal me. The disease that got me was so strong and even my mother’s medicines could not eliminate the illness. The only person who was able to heal me was.......myself.” Both Edward and Abby ‘s eye s looked puzzle and amaze. They not quite understood what she mean by it, so Valen continued.

“So I mentioned one of my ability, which is medicines, ingredients, herbs and such do not affect me much, that was probably why my mother’s medicine was not able to heal me back then. The second one, was something my family and I realized during that time, it’s totally not a self-healing ability, but the ability to heal myself quickly if I personally prepare the medicine.  Hence, what I am telling you Edward, in case something will really happen to me, that water with solution on my cup will heal me, because I was the one who prepared it.” Valen said his final sentence with conviction.

Edward and Abby both immediately believed her, though Abby asked further question.

“Does that only apply if you heal yourself using your medicines? Or do you think that it also applies if you used it to others?...that would make you the greatest, don’t you think?” Abby found herself excited as she asked the question, forgetting the current situation they are in.

“We are not sure, we don’t have the time to experiment and test if it is. I do not even care anyway. Healing others is the only thing that matters.” Valen answered truthfully.

“Forgive me Valen. There’s no meaning to that question. Uhm, you mentioned two of your abilities...do you think you have more?”

Valen started inspecting the flower as she listened to Abby’s question.

“It’s alright, Abby. Yes, I think there is...though I think I need to understand it more because I thought I already understood it, but I realized I do not. My parents said that I might still have more abilities that has not been properly honed yet or it has not come out properly yet. They  even sounded like I am a special one. Well, I...” Valen stopped speaking, her eyes widened in surprised and she felt fear, then suddenly, she felt a little dizzy and started to feel that her consciousness is being sucked away. She immediately stood up making Abby startled and Edward hurriedly went beside her and let her drink the liquid in the cup.

After drinking the entire content, she felt instantly fine and Valen immediately grabbed the flower and threw it in an empty bin. She grabbed a paper, set it to fire using the lamp beside her and threw the paper on fire in the bin, burning the flower. A dark purple smoke appear which seemed like a spirit was released from the flower.

“What was that?!” Abby asked and terrified.

“We need to go back to Lady Meredith’s room and burn the flowers Abby. Do you still remember who asked you to bring those flowers to her room? Well, first le-let’s burn those flower.” Valen said as she walks panickly back and forth.

“What’s happening Valen? Is this something serious? I need to know – and please calm down Valen, I’m here.” Edward said holding Valen on her shoulders to stopped her from walking back and forth and to get her attention as she looked very disturbed and terrified.

“Edward.” Valen whispered as she snapped out of her panic state. Abby just stood in the corner looking petrified as she do not know what to do and think.

“Valen, calm down, I’m here.” Edward repeated. “Tell me what is happening, I am here to help, I am here for you. I am also the prince so if this is something serious, I also need to take actions.” Edward said calmly as he let Valen sit on a near chair.

“Edward, I am right...the flower was a gaprischo, but it is kind of different.” Valen started. “but this was the first time I encountered this,” Valen paused and took a deep breath, “it’s different...because it was dark, it was so evil, it was surrounded-it was surrounded with black magic.” Edward and Abby eyes both widened, they were shocked, they have never seen a black magic before.

“The dark purple smoke that you saw after burning it was the dark spirit that was released out of the flower. My mother told me about black magic before, she told me it was real, and that if there’s a way to burn the source where it was embedded, then do it...that’s the most effective and simplest way to remove an evil spirit. I remember she once said that there were very few healers who have some strange and unique abilities associated to darkness but will never use it for evil purposes. Making use of evil spirit were definitely a doing of a black healer – a witch. A witch was once a healer, but they sold their souls to darkness to make themselves more powerful. The normal gaprischo can make a person hallucinate or lose consciousness, so that means the dark gaprischo can do something more. I really do not have any idea what it can do but I know it is something serious.” Valen stood up looking more calm and ready to unravel the mystery.

“It somehow surprises me that it somehow affected me, it just means that the magic in it was strong, that person’s black magic was strong...good thing the water was able to bring back my normal state, but we can’t be so careless, we still need to burn the gaprischo in Lady Meredith’s room, now!”

The three immediately went out of Valen’s room and Valen carried the lamp. As they step out of the room, they were surprised as there were purple gaprischos on a vase on a near table. Valen immediately grabbed them, went inside her room and threw the flowers in the bin and started to burn them.

“I am afraid to think what I am thinking, but I hope I am wrong. Abby, go to Meredith’s room and burn the flowers, I’ll check other places in the mansion, I just hope that those flowers were not placed on every vase in the mansion.” Edward said and he went to the right to check other places while Abby went to the left to go to Lady Meredith’s room. Valen on the other hand also thought that perhaps the flowers were already everywhere in the mansion. She tried to ignore her worriness  and fear, she decided to prepare the solution she did a while ago but this time, she poured the powder and green liquid on a pitcher.

Andy was so hungry after cleaning the stables and feeding the horses. He decided to go back to the mansion to ask her mother, the chief cook Jena Morris, for something to eat, but along the mansion hall, he saw some mansion guards and a few servants lying on the ground unconsious, while some of them are leaning on a wall, conscious but mumbling something and looking somewhere distant. Andy tried to speak to one of the mumbling guards.

“Pancho, hey Pancho! What’s going on here?!” Andy asked as he shaked the mansion guard, trying to snap him out of his own thought. He tried to ask a few more but no one responded properly. Then he saw Edward, holding some purple flowers while he pulled more purple flowers out from their vases.

Edward curses as he saw that each table has a vase with purple flowers on it. He tried to collect them first and burn them at the same time. He saw some unconscious servant, and there were a few which already seemed hallucinating, there was even one male servant who tried to slash him with a kitchen knife, good thing he was able to dodge it and counterattacked to put him down and made him unconscious. He was grabbing few more purple flowers when someone called him and saw his best friend Andy. He was relief that it seems that his best friend is fine.

“Edward, what’s going on here? I saw servants and guard unconscious and some are mumbling, it’s creepy.”

“Andy, glad to see you are alright, but it will be too much to explain right now but what I can tell you is, we need to burn this purple flower...it seems that they are already everywhere inside the mansion. This thing is the cause of these unconscious and hallucinating servants. But please be aware that some of them may probably attack you, so make sure to not accidentally kill anyone and just make them unconscious. For now, it’s necessary for you to go to Valen so you can drink that...that...that liquid, so you will not be affected by this evil flowers. She’s still in her room I think, tell her that the flowers are already scattered everywhere and servants, knights and guards are already affected.” Edward was so thankful that Andy no longer pried and went directly towards Valen’s room.

Valen decided not to panic after hearing from Andy that servants and guards were already affected.  She gave Andy a cup of the liquid and asked him to let everyone drink the liquid. She knew that it will not be enough so she decided to prepare more. After preparing more solution, she went out of her room to give each hallucinating, as well as unconscious servants, knights and guards drink the liquid. Each of them became unconscious after drinking the liquid and Valen knew that their consciousness will be back later.

Few minutes after, she was reunited with Edward, Andy  and Abby. They were able to burn all of the flowers, and they were able to give each and everyone in the mansion a cup of the liquid except for, the royal highnesses, Lord Thomas and his wife Lady Melinda, as well as Lord James and Lady Mia, and Lady Meredith, and there’s only one room left to check... the Great Hall.

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A/N: Sorry for the loooooooooooooonnnnnngggggggggggg wait. I thought there are no more followers but it seems there's still a few, including some new ones. This chapter has been written a long time ago, I thought I already posted it sorry. Not sure when will be the next update but stay tuned. :)

Surprise dedication to Mafia_panda. thank you for taking interest to read the story, for voting, and for your message. I appreciate it. :)